Andrew Warshaw speaks to boss Gavin Macpherson about new signings, backroom changes, and his hopes for 2025/26

Forward Lamar Reynolds is one of Enfield Town’s new signings ahead of the 2025/26 season

Enfield Town manager Gavin Macpherson doesn’t buy into “second season syndrome” but admits the club is facing another daunting challenge when the new National League South campaign gets under way this month.

By an uncanny quirk of fate, a year after starting their first-ever step two adventure with a daunting trip to Torquay, the 2025/26 fixture list has thrown up exactly the same scenario. And so, on Saturday, 9th August, Town make the long trip to Devon to take on the side that were widely expected to gain promotion last season, but who lost in the play-offs and will now be odds-on favourites to challenge for the title once again.

Many Town fans might have one eye on a long weekend in the ‘English Riviera’ but on the pitch it’s likely to be another baptism of fire and, whatever the result, the fixtures don’t come any easier. A week later, Town host Maidenhead United – one of the sides who dropped down from the National League and will be desperate to get straight back up.

Throw into the mix the likes of Dagenham and Redbridge – who, remarkably, have managed to sign former England striker Andy Carroll – and you get some idea of the task ahead. And yet, the goal this time is more than just survival.

“The quality has gone up several notches,” Gavin told the Dispatch. “We’re battling against even more full-time teams, but I’m looking to embrace the magnitude of it and push on from last season.”

To do that, Town have made some key signings, three of whom are forwards, including Lamar Reynolds, whose superb goal for Maidstone against Ipswich Town 18 months ago helped pull off one of the great shocks in recent FA Cup history.

Reynolds, 29, joins from Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton and is a veritable coup. “I’m delighted to get Lamar on board,” said Gavin. “It took some working through but I was very happy to see this one over the line. I had some early conversations in which Lamar wanted to know about the club and supporters which was easy to talk about.

“He is a forward with pace and power, he was used as a wide player last season but with the right partner I believe he is just what we have been missing through the middle. It was the one area of the field where we had to improve.”

Town’s other summer signings at the top end of the field are Tommy Wood and Harry Lodovica, while specialist right-back Avan Jones, who can also play on the other side, joins from Chesham United, hugely experienced and versatile Scottish defender and defensive midfielder Ruaridh Donaldson arrives from Chelmsford City, and central midfielder Hayden Bullas has signed on a season-long loan from Leyton Orient.

It’s not only on the pitch that Town have brought in fresh blood. Off it, they have appointed Jon Underwood, who spent nine seasons at Slough Town, as assistant manager, with Jon Nurse stepping aside to concentrate on other management duties, including analysis and recruitment.

Such changes make for a far more professional approach – tactically and structurally at least – though a majority of the players still have day jobs outside the game, as do the management staff.

“I don’t know the ins and outs of other clubs and their finances but football is a small world and word gets round,” said Gavin. “We had a list of over 50 targets in the close season and we only got four or five. The fact is, a lot of clubs we would have badged as maybe not as big a stature as others are now trying to bridge the gap with a lot more pulling power. In a couple of years this league will all be full-time. That makes it even harder for clubs like ours.”

But certainly not too hard to be competitive, especially given the fact that Town’s performances in the second half of last season, if repeated over the campaign as a whole, would have led to a mid-table finish.

“We made the biggest step this club ever has last season by staying up and success for us now is to improve on that,” explained Gavin. “Whether that’s one place or ten places, we’ll know a bit more when the league takes hold.

“I liken it a bit to Premier League and Championship. More often than not the team that gets promoted goes down, but we didn’t because we ended up beating the teams we needed to. In a way, this is our second season syndrome but I don’t believe in that. Yes there are certain things we can’t do but we’ll prepare the best we can and know we’re going to have to step up.”

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